The Fremantle Harbour Classic 2020
from the Leeuwin.
Its taken me 10 years to get a T shirt from the Fremantle Harbour Classic and even then its a bit small, or I've grown a little. :-) But. I was wandering the wharf looking for some shade on a scorching day and the sight of the start team on the Leeuwin was enough to encourage me to cheekily ask whether I could join them on board. ( Shade, access to information etc. ) A shirt was thrown to me with the instructions.. put it on and come aboard. Many thanks to the starters and to Trevor who was starting his umpteenth Harbour Classic.
Look over the yachts on offer and note that the SB20's were doing a knock out prior to the main event to provide the 3 starters for the main yacht race. Crickey, they'll be buggered at the end of the day. And in the boats rolled, none of the legendary Limits, General Lees and Black Betties, but useful rocket ships began to turn up. Weapon of Choice again handicapped so far back that he didn't have a chance; Argo still following the youth theme and putting Chris Charlewood next to Chris Higham. Joss, Wasabi, Crush and Witchy Women. The FSC woman's team had a bunch of girls headed by Shelly White with Caz Bush as the boat captain and they were going for gold. Circa, Kraken and the Cro Connection. The Legend ( Denis Vincent on Wyuna) and the three SS34's: Soon, Huckleberry and Swagman. The competition between the last two of them will not be forgotten as will the faux pas of the previous year. And in came Enterprise SP driven by Paul Eldrid using the former Stimulus Package as his boat. ( Apparently its going to be the new yot of choice for Captain Anthony Kirke who has been experimenting with smaller boats. )
A comfortable west sou westerly was in evidence and the racing was pretty damn fine as they all started and roared up and down the track having fun. It was commented on that Todd Giraudo was not on Kraken as he was confined to quarters with a suspicious sniff. Covid, probably not, but who wants to know him if it was. So Dubbo got to drive and was in charge when they had to retire with a busted rudder. ( Still had one left, but it does make things hard.)
The SS34's remained out the front with Huckleberry scooping the pool for the race and surprisingly the SB 20's packed up and went home without completing the final rounding of the top mark. Oh well, there was some explaining to do in the bar later on. Paul Eldrid would never leave a race finish to be easily obtained and even though he didn't have the win in sight , he still pushed the limit against the Cro and Circa making good video for Lisa on the water with her video camera.
Enjoy the pix.
Look over the yachts on offer and note that the SB20's were doing a knock out prior to the main event to provide the 3 starters for the main yacht race. Crickey, they'll be buggered at the end of the day. And in the boats rolled, none of the legendary Limits, General Lees and Black Betties, but useful rocket ships began to turn up. Weapon of Choice again handicapped so far back that he didn't have a chance; Argo still following the youth theme and putting Chris Charlewood next to Chris Higham. Joss, Wasabi, Crush and Witchy Women. The FSC woman's team had a bunch of girls headed by Shelly White with Caz Bush as the boat captain and they were going for gold. Circa, Kraken and the Cro Connection. The Legend ( Denis Vincent on Wyuna) and the three SS34's: Soon, Huckleberry and Swagman. The competition between the last two of them will not be forgotten as will the faux pas of the previous year. And in came Enterprise SP driven by Paul Eldrid using the former Stimulus Package as his boat. ( Apparently its going to be the new yot of choice for Captain Anthony Kirke who has been experimenting with smaller boats. )
A comfortable west sou westerly was in evidence and the racing was pretty damn fine as they all started and roared up and down the track having fun. It was commented on that Todd Giraudo was not on Kraken as he was confined to quarters with a suspicious sniff. Covid, probably not, but who wants to know him if it was. So Dubbo got to drive and was in charge when they had to retire with a busted rudder. ( Still had one left, but it does make things hard.)
The SS34's remained out the front with Huckleberry scooping the pool for the race and surprisingly the SB 20's packed up and went home without completing the final rounding of the top mark. Oh well, there was some explaining to do in the bar later on. Paul Eldrid would never leave a race finish to be easily obtained and even though he didn't have the win in sight , he still pushed the limit against the Cro and Circa making good video for Lisa on the water with her video camera.
Enjoy the pix.
The Fremantle Harbour Classic 2019
from the wharf.
& a farewell to John Sanders from Fremantle.
Once again I'm shooting from the wharf and we have a few images of John Sanders taking a moment to enjoy a farewell from the assembled crowds on the wharf, with a few curious onlookers muttering, " Whose this fellow?" and a patient viewer would take them aside and explain what the hoohaa was about. They generally stuck around to watch the procession into the harbour and out again.
John Sanders came and went with all the pomp and ceremony that he deserved and a fitting send off from a large crowd of well wishers and a grand flotilla of boats of all sorts turned out to see him off. I do hope that he travels well and makes it around the globe with a bit of time for him to reflect on his considerable travels.
But now to the harbour race.
A west sou westerly of about 10 to 12 knots was in evidence and a bright sunny day had the 16 or so boats bobbing around with a swarm of SB 20's running around with plans of their own.
There was a match race in the offing as three SS34's were racing today and two from the same club, Huckleberry and Swagman wouldn't leave this one alone. So race they did, from go to whoa with the result being a very unsatisfactory DNF for both, as they missed the penultimate mark before rounding the final mark at the top of the course. The look on the RO's face, as I turned to query him about the missed mark and the lack of a sound signal as they crashed across the line that said it all. Meanwhile Soon the 3rd SS34, driven by Mike Thorpe went on its merry way as did fellow FSC member Ole Otness who is up for a long service record for 30 years of appearances (well almost) not fast , but he's still there.
However someone gave Conor Nicholas a 40 ft Archambault called Argo and he drove it like a sports car. He hit the line with the kite up and nailed the start time and finished the same way under spinnaker, coming in on a hot angle and pushing past a rather surprised Dennis Vincent on Wyuna to snaffle his second place on the line. (I wonder whether Conor is jockeying for a spot on the Abbots boat in the Sydney to Hobart this year)
Weapon of Choice, (back marker again) was trying very hard to beat last years 2nd fastest and had Billy Leonard as crew captain marshalling the crew to ensure a fast race. Mike Giles was also taking it seriously as its still on his "to win" list, but couldn't go fast enough in the light breeze.
However the SB 20's were out to play and loaded up with talent, names like Nia Jerwood, Matt Wearne, Chris Charlwood, Zoe Thomson, Mark Whittington and even the legendry Swifto was in evidence. But for all that it was going to be a Charlwood kind of day as he took the race within a race from Nia who certainly put a spirited battle. Almost felt sorry for Matt W, but he's over here to relax between commitments.
Well done to Witchy Woman, helmed by John Palmer, who though he had third and took the win very happily. My thoughts however went to Émigré helmed by Morgan Flower who raced simply because Travis told him to. Starting first and finishing last, he got a strong cheer from the finishing line for participating and I hope that he'll be back next year, as he was game enough to duke it out with a bunch of bigger boats.
Many thanks to all that participated and well done to the volunteers and the announcers who kept us informed on the day. Well done also to Sam, the FSC dinghy administrator, who keeping in line with the Just In Time principle, delivered the announcing team their chairs and a table to work from, with about 10 minutes to go.
Missing in action were a number of the Coventry Reef race boats from yesterday with a number of the quick boats electing to not line up for the racing today. Disappointing to a couple of young sailors of about 10 or 12 who were nearby with their mums watching the Huckleberry team out on the water. They asked where the likes of Indian, Black Betty, Deeds and the yachts that these kids have learnt to hold up as the crème de la crème of our sport. All I could say was that they must have had other things to do today. At least I could point at the youth teams out on the water and talk about them.
Please note that 2 cameras were used so some images will be out of sequence
John Sanders departure
The Fremantle Harbour Classic 2018
from the wharf.
Its been an interesting few years with this event and it almost died a horrible death as for some reason they kept on having this race on a Saturday when all the yachties were out sailing and worse, they had it when the big Freo Festival was on, meaning no parking and presumably all the punters who were in town were interested in the café strip.
A great day on the water with enough breeze to make it worth while going for a race. The Legends and Young guns was an interesting few moments on the water with 8 SB 20's out for a bit of R& R in the harbour. Of course the Rotto Ferry arrived right on the start time for the first attempt at getting the fleet underway, so quick work by the RO had them back and around behind the start line for the dash to the top. My only concern was to try and work who was officially a young gun and who was a legend as I saw at least three world champions and several national champs. But the deciding factor used to be age, but apart from Nick Jerwood and the boys on the UON SB20, everyone was under 25. Let me see.. Nia Jerwood, Matt Wearne, Conor Nicholas, Luke Elliott, Chris Charlewood and I think Alex Landwehr . Luke and Alex might be pushing the limit. But the rest of the gang aren't.
A fine race and fittingly it was won by double world champion Nick Jerwood, proving that age and craftiness still beats youth and agility.
In the Harbour Classic it was slightly disappointing in that of the advertised 19 boats only 16 rocked up and one of those boats shouldn't have been listed as they broke their rudder in the Gero last weekend. However of the 16 that fronted in the harbour, most had been on the Coventry Race the day before and the crews were contemplating a few beverages after the race. With all pursuit races, hitting the line on time is a bonus and we noticed one or two boats were giving their opponents a start. Well if they really want to, who are we to argue, but at the other end it does count.
It was noticeable that the foredeck was having problems on most of the problems as the gentleman beside me muttered.. "They must be going for the full collection of Wine Glasses today" . I had to agree with him, there were a few. An early retirement by This Way Up with the crew heading around to the club for a quick tidy up and beers in the afternoon. The rest of the fleet continued to roar up and down and whilst there were no mad dashes to the finish line with spinnakers crackling and straining in a roaring seabreeze, it was still a pleasure to watch. Well done to Southern Star who took the line comfortably with Aquila second.
A moment to reflect occurred with Laurie and Dynamic ducking in close beside the museum in search for the perfect gybe angle. Someone must have dumped all the rubble from the museum just at that spot, cause Dynamic came a sudden halt and had to be taken off. We all hope that no damage occurred to the boat. Though Laurie probably had some explaining to do back at the club house.
Thanks to Bernie Kaaks for the commentary on the day. He was called up at the last moment when the regular commentator team was not available. He did a fine job considering.
Two cameras were used in photographing and therefore some of the images will be out of sequence.
The first set of images are from the Legends and Young guns, the second is from the Harbour Classic.
A great day on the water with enough breeze to make it worth while going for a race. The Legends and Young guns was an interesting few moments on the water with 8 SB 20's out for a bit of R& R in the harbour. Of course the Rotto Ferry arrived right on the start time for the first attempt at getting the fleet underway, so quick work by the RO had them back and around behind the start line for the dash to the top. My only concern was to try and work who was officially a young gun and who was a legend as I saw at least three world champions and several national champs. But the deciding factor used to be age, but apart from Nick Jerwood and the boys on the UON SB20, everyone was under 25. Let me see.. Nia Jerwood, Matt Wearne, Conor Nicholas, Luke Elliott, Chris Charlewood and I think Alex Landwehr . Luke and Alex might be pushing the limit. But the rest of the gang aren't.
A fine race and fittingly it was won by double world champion Nick Jerwood, proving that age and craftiness still beats youth and agility.
In the Harbour Classic it was slightly disappointing in that of the advertised 19 boats only 16 rocked up and one of those boats shouldn't have been listed as they broke their rudder in the Gero last weekend. However of the 16 that fronted in the harbour, most had been on the Coventry Race the day before and the crews were contemplating a few beverages after the race. With all pursuit races, hitting the line on time is a bonus and we noticed one or two boats were giving their opponents a start. Well if they really want to, who are we to argue, but at the other end it does count.
It was noticeable that the foredeck was having problems on most of the problems as the gentleman beside me muttered.. "They must be going for the full collection of Wine Glasses today" . I had to agree with him, there were a few. An early retirement by This Way Up with the crew heading around to the club for a quick tidy up and beers in the afternoon. The rest of the fleet continued to roar up and down and whilst there were no mad dashes to the finish line with spinnakers crackling and straining in a roaring seabreeze, it was still a pleasure to watch. Well done to Southern Star who took the line comfortably with Aquila second.
A moment to reflect occurred with Laurie and Dynamic ducking in close beside the museum in search for the perfect gybe angle. Someone must have dumped all the rubble from the museum just at that spot, cause Dynamic came a sudden halt and had to be taken off. We all hope that no damage occurred to the boat. Though Laurie probably had some explaining to do back at the club house.
Thanks to Bernie Kaaks for the commentary on the day. He was called up at the last moment when the regular commentator team was not available. He did a fine job considering.
Two cameras were used in photographing and therefore some of the images will be out of sequence.
The first set of images are from the Legends and Young guns, the second is from the Harbour Classic.
The Fremantle Harbour Classic 2013
and the America's Cup Legends Racing.
With a little bit of forethought, Fremantle Sailing Club has put together a grand affair celebrating the 30 years of the America's Cup to accompany the Fremantle Festive season that is in full swing.
The Legends of the America's Cup in company with other notable yachting skippers and the Harbour Classic.
My thanks to FSC and their sponsors for putting me on the water on the day.
The Legends of the America's Cup in company with other notable yachting skippers and the Harbour Classic.
My thanks to FSC and their sponsors for putting me on the water on the day.
The America's Cup Legends ( and friends ) race
prior to the Harbour Classic
A great day on the water with a light nor easter settled in. The course was set and the skippers given the chance to get going. As not too many of the skippers were used to the SB20's it was a case of settle in in the first race and sail to your best.
The odds were fairly good that a certain former match racing world champion was going to get up and with the aid of his sons he took off' scoring well in the first race, not first but close and then was not headed during the racing to follow. A great sequence occurred in the start of the first race and if you go through it, they produced some great shots. Weel done the Gilmour gang
The odds were fairly good that a certain former match racing world champion was going to get up and with the aid of his sons he took off' scoring well in the first race, not first but close and then was not headed during the racing to follow. A great sequence occurred in the start of the first race and if you go through it, they produced some great shots. Weel done the Gilmour gang
The Harbour Race 2013
The wind had all but dropped out by the time that the SB20's had finished in the harbour and we were getting little puffs over our shoulders as the Westerly struggled to come in. Did I say struggle ? It didn't get above 8 knots all day and the people on the wharves must have cooked as it was hot enough on the water. No matter, this was an exercise in light weather sailing and the big boats were in trouble. Three boats looked good and all were sports boats, two Thompsons and a Bull. And well done to Dominic Papaluca in Wild Bull who got from the middle of the pack to the front in the two lap race, showing the skills derived from a strong offshore performance and good team work. Fastest boat was predictably Black Betty and you could hear the thump of the stereo from 100 yards away.
The Presentations and People shots
Please note that all these images are copyright and may not be used without my express permission
The Fremantle Harbour Classic 2012
The ultimate pursuit race set up to go inside Fremantle Harbour.
For 22 years they have been belting around the confines of the harbour and Sunday was no exception. May be the breeze wasn't as severe as it has been, but we had the sports boats out including a single solitary Viper; a bunch of Thompsons and a pair of British SB's. Of course Arajilla and Archimedes were out to settle old scores and their racing was great. WoWS made it onto the water ..determined to win the blasted thing only to have Gary Martin's Acrospire sail a controlled race from the front and end up the eventual winner.
Thanks to Fremantle Sailing Club for putting on the event and old golden tongue Bernie Kaaks who commentated for the event in company with Ron Jensen. Thanks also to the sponsors on the day.. their help made this event possible.
For 22 years they have been belting around the confines of the harbour and Sunday was no exception. May be the breeze wasn't as severe as it has been, but we had the sports boats out including a single solitary Viper; a bunch of Thompsons and a pair of British SB's. Of course Arajilla and Archimedes were out to settle old scores and their racing was great. WoWS made it onto the water ..determined to win the blasted thing only to have Gary Martin's Acrospire sail a controlled race from the front and end up the eventual winner.
Thanks to Fremantle Sailing Club for putting on the event and old golden tongue Bernie Kaaks who commentated for the event in company with Ron Jensen. Thanks also to the sponsors on the day.. their help made this event possible.